Detroit - SS Sainte Claire - Boblo - Browning Steamship - 1938
by John Madison
Title
Detroit - SS Sainte Claire - Boblo - Browning Steamship - 1938
Artist
John Madison
Medium
Digital Art - Digital
Description
The SS Sainte Claire
"The SS Ste. Claire was constructed in Toledo, Ohio in 1910. During it’s heyday, the Ste. Claire sailed down the Detroit River from downtown Detroit to Bois Blanc Island, a Canadian island that was home to an amusement park built as a destination for the steamers. During the summer, the ship's triple decks would be filled with passengers enjoying the 90-minute, 18-mile boat ride to the island. The ship featured music and dancing, an arcade, and a snack bar. The ship and her sister ship Columbia became icons on the Detroit River and were greatly loved by the people of Detroit.
The steamer Ste. Claire represents the typical propeller-driven excursion steamer of the turn of the century, a type once found in many parts of the country. Excursion steamers are steamships built primarily for passengers for day trips. Ste. Claire and her running mate Columbia represent the "ocean-going" type of excursion vessel although they were used on lakes.
The steamer Columbia and Ste. Claire are the last two remaining classic excursion steamers in the country; and the last essentially unaltered passenger ships designed by Frank E. Kirby; and for their essentially unaltered propulsion machinery of a type becoming increasingly rare ; as the two last vessels of the Detroit and Windsor Ferry Co.; as two of the few surviving vessels built by the Detroit Dry Dock Company, and for their unaltered propulsion machinery, which is of a rare type. Columbia is the oldest passenger steamer in the United States, excepting vessels properly classed as ferries. Columbia and her running-mate Ste. Claire are the last two steamers of their type with integrity left in the United States. The pair shared their original run from Detroit to Bob-Lo Island for 81 years, a record of service on a single run unequalled in U. S. history."
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February 8th, 2013
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